Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 59: Grade V Explorer ①
And so, I unexpectedly became a Grade V explorer.
An explorer… It was never a dream of mine, nor something I admired.
I had no special attachment to it.
It’s simply for the sake of making a living. That’s all.
So, I thought I would just become one sometime next year, vaguely.
I never imagined I’d be Grade V before the year even changed…
Life is hard to predict.
As I looked at my tag and put it into my pouch, five men suddenly blocked my path.
All of them were staring at me.
What is this? The atmosphere was clearly unpleasant.
They slowly surrounded me. One of them spoke.
“Come quietly.”
“……”
I figured this would lead to a back alley.
We entered a narrow side street, and sure enough, it was a back alley.
As expected.
They surrounded me, keeping a certain distance. One man stepped forward.
“Hey. You.”
“What is it?”
“You’re Woff, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“You little—!”
One of the men beside him stepped forward.
I looked at them and spoke.
“What do you want from me?”
“We’re with Dragon Fang Row.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of you.”
Well, I figured as much.
Even so, there was nothing particularly notable about them.
Ordinary faces. Average builds. Standard gear. Completely unremarkable.
One man had a shaved head. He spoke up.
“This is a warning. Stay away from Torquetum.”
“You brat, acting all high and mighty—!”
“You little shit, trying to cozy up to them when you’re not even a real explorer!”
“S-she belongs to us!“
“Yeah, that’s right! We’re the ones aiming for them!”
“……”
The shaved-head man repeated:
“This is a warning. There won’t be another. Stay away from Torquetum.”
“…What if I say no?”
“Then we’ll use force.”
All five of them drew their swords.
Not a single one had a knife.
“So you’re going to kill me?”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“All five of you, at once?”
Silence.
That silence was the answer.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have drawn weapons in a back alley.
I spoke calmly.
“Then let me give you my final warning: If you leave now without saying another word, I won’t do anything. I’ll overlook everything you’ve done so far.”
“What did you say?”
“You bastard!”
“Let’s just kill him already!”
“Let’s burn him!”
“You think you can mock us?!”
“Final warning. Leave now, and I’ll let this go.”
“You cocky little—!”
One of them swung his sword.
I dodged, stepped in, and punched him with [Vanish].
His upper body vanished, gouged away.
“Wha—!? Gahhh!”
I slashed the surprised bald man with a knife.
It was Agaro’s knife—the red blade drew blood.
“You—! Guhh!”
I used [Vanish] to carve into his abdomen.
“You bastard!”
Slash with the knife, then erase part of his body with [Banish].
“Burn!”
I erased the flame with [Vanish] and stabbed him in the stomach with the knife.
Approaching the still-breathing bald man, I heard:
“Hahh… hahh… Y-you… You think you’ll get away with this…”
“I warned you.”
I finished him off.
Sigh… I really did warn them.
People like this never back down, huh. It’s frustrating.
Whew. Still…
It might sound strange, but… I took down five of them in no time.
“…I really have gotten stronger.”
As I quietly reflected, I sensed a presence.
In an instant, a gleaming slash came from above.
“Tch!”
I instinctively blocked it with my knife—it was deflected.
What impact. I fell, but quickly got up.
Strong. Who was that? A hidden attacker?
Then I saw her—and was stunned.
It was Liv.
She tapped her shoulder with the blade in her hand.
Peach-white glowing hair, red eyes, pale skin, a face too perfectly shaped to be real—
A stunning beauty in a black jacket, wearing a Maximilian AMD suit with trousers.
Still as sci-fi-looking as ever.
“Mm… yo.”
“L-Liv…?”
That blade… that slash… no way. But still…
As I hesitated, Liv spoke.
“Mmm… boy… what are you… doing?”
“Just brushing off a few sparks. And you, Liv?”
“I saw you… but… guess it was nothing to worry about… huh.”
She glanced at the corpses, then back at me.
In her crimson, emotionless eyes—like blood—I saw a flash of light.
“Liv? …Wait—!?”
A chill ran down my spine.
Liv smiled.
“Mmm… boy… let’s have a little… fun with your big sis’s body.”
With a serene, expressionless smile, she wrapped her legs, stuck out her hips, twisted her upper body, and raised her blade—
Her elegance carried a hint of seduction, and I gave a slightly bitter smile.
“Ahaha… If I play with you, big sis, it doesn’t look like it’ll end with just a little fun.”
I knew from the very first blow.
She wanted to fight me. She wanted to play.
No matter what I say, it’s useless.
I raised my knife with the blunt edge forward.
Liv mirrored me, showing the flat side of her blade.
“…Liv doesn’t use Pleiades…”
“I won’t use relics either.”
Of course not. This isn’t a fight to the death. It’s play. Serious play.
“Mmm… then… here I come… boy. Try to catch Liv… okay?”
With a light ton, she leapt forward and charged straight at me—
Her speed flowed like water.
I desperately parried her blade with my knife, but I was being overpowered.
I tried to redirect the blade by angling the knife upward,
but it didn’t deflect—her blade clung to it.
“Shoot—!”
I instantly let go of the knife.
It got flung away, tangled in her blade.
At the same time, Liv’s movement widened.
I used that opening to slip into her guard.
Quickly, I grabbed her jacket—by the zipper near her collar and around her chest.
“Nn…!”
I pushed and pulled, flipping Liv over.
“Dee-yah!”
“Mmm… but… not enough, boy.”
“Wha—?”
I-I can’t move. She’s like stone.
“…Yo-hoi.”
Liv twisted her upper body from the waist and spun.
That alone made me release my grip and go flying.
“W-whoa!?”
I hit the ground but jumped up immediately.
Where’s my knife? There! Got it!
I retrieved Agaro’s knife.
“Mmm… diving into big sis’s arms like that… naughty boy.”
“Your body, big sis… it’s amazing.”
“…I trained… now I’m really… amazing… right?”
Liv closed in, swinging her sword.
I met her with my knife.
Damn. Liv’s sword is faster. I’m definitely getting pushed back.
“Guh—kuh—kuhh!”
“Mmm… as expected from the witch’s apprentice… strong…”
“T-thank you.”
“But… you can still… keep going… right… boy?”
“…!?”
Her strikes got even faster.
Liv’s blade came at me from all directions.
And each hit was heavy.
Her chain attacks were intense.
She came at me from above—I blocked it,
bracing for the next attack.
But then, Liv backed off.
“Mmm… boy… you did good…”
“Thank you. Huh?”
I felt something… off.
Liv gripped her blade in both hands and angled it diagonally downward.
“Mmm… so now, boy… I’ll show you something even better… from big sis…”
“Huh?”
Her blade shimmered, leaving a double afterimage—
and she charged.
I blocked it just as she slashed downward.
A strong impact and pressure—
At that moment, I felt a strange heaviness in my knife.
It felt dangerous. I tried to pull back—
but my body wouldn’t move.
Her blade’s shimmer stopped suddenly.
“…Crash Edge.”
The knife shattered.
“…Ah.”
“Huh?”
Agaro-san, in high spirits, had once asked me if there was anything I wanted as a memento for completing a monster hunt.
Without hesitation, I said, “A knife.”
And so, he gave me this red knife that had been tucked away in the back of Arifa-san’s shop.
He said it was the knife he used back when he was a Rank IV explorer.
Its single-edged design was simple, though he mentioned that the scabbard and fittings had been replaced several times.
Now it had a sheath made from salamander leather.
The grip was made from the horn of a Thunderbull—that lightning-clad beast.
The blade, which had never been replaced, was a sooty red, like red bronze.
It had a wavy pattern along the edge, like raging waves.
Slightly curved and the longest I’ve ever held—almost like a short sword.
No, actually… this knife reminded me of one buried in the corner of a memory from my past life.
It looked like the kind of knife used by that adventurer known for his signature hat and the dog he named himself after.
Simple in design, but so cool.
And now it was shattered.
Broken from tip to pommel, into scattered pieces.
The glittering red blade crumbled into dust and danced in the wind.
Fragments fell to the ground.
Ah, the red wind.
Is Hagan still alive…?
No, he was undead—alive wouldn’t be the right word.
Then what was that red wind?
That red wind must surely carry death.
It must be carrying the death of this knife.
“………………”
“Mm… boy… so sorry.”
Liv-san apologized. So what.
“………………………… The knife… the one Agaro-san gave me…”
“Mm… ah… um… boy…”
“…Ah, um, don’t worry about it. I’m fine. I’m totally fine today.”
W-well, it couldn’t be helped. This was always a possibility.
I’m used to knives breaking or getting smashed.
So yeah. That’s all it is.
“…Boy… but… it’s still Liv’s fault…”
“…Ah, no, really, i-it’s fine.”
“Mm. So… Liv will fix your knife!”
“Eh?”
“…That’s why… come with me.”
“Where to?”
Fix the knife…?